When someone you love becomes a memory, those memories become a treasure, and It is forever our hearts that will be brimming with the riches given by the vast and loving life of mother, entrepreneur, artist, and educator - Gertrude Essaff.

Born on June 6, 1922 in Magog, Quebec to Seraphine Robert Obomsawin and Adelbert Laplante, Gertrude carried with her the roots of her Abenaki heritage, having visited often the reservation that her mother had left as a teenager, in search of work and a better life. Gertrude's grandparents, Frederic Robert Obomsawin and Celina Duperron Robert Obomsawin, remained on the reservation of Odanak, where she would later spend an extended stay to take care of her grandmother when sick and ailing. Gertrude recalls times when she would travel to Odanak with her parents to acquire sweet grass baskets that Celina had made, selling them back in the states to help support her then-widowed grandmother.

Gertrude's family settled in Newport, VT, where she was accompanied by her younger brother Arthur Laplante, and older sister Florence Laplante Coburn. Gertrude recalls times during the depression when they had little to eat and would often have dinner with neighbors that still had reliable work. She also recalls having only one dress, which she would wash in the sink, and having to put cardboard into the bottoms of their shoes when they would wear through, as they could not afford a vehicle, and walked to most places in town. These experiences would later inform her ethics and practices as she became a successful business owner in her hometown.

Gertrude married her husband of 57 years, Lewis John Essaff, on March 25, 1940. Together, they would have seven children, and run a thriving community establishment, The Eastside Restaurant, for over 40 years. Positioned on East Main Street next to Louisa Assaff Groceries, and across from Jacobs Barber Shop, this family-style restaurant would serve as a hub and beacon for their extended family and the greater Newport area, until its sale in 1986. Famous for its storefront rotisserie chicken and secret recipe barbeque sauce, the Eastside Restaurant continues to thrive on the waterfront of Lake Memphremagog, in Newport, VT. Late in their time as restaurant owners, Lewis and Gertrude would go out for a nightly drive around Newport. "Gertrude, you wanna go for a spin?", Lewis would say. They would venture out near dusk, rolling through town slowly to see the sights and enjoy the setting sun. It was often that they would encounter a homeless or empty-handed individual walking along the city's sidewalk. They would stop and offer this person a ride, and sometimes, would take them back to the restaurant, even if it were closed. They would sit the individual down at a booth and make them a meal of their choice, of which they would eat by the light of a single lamp. Gertrude would sit across, and Lewis would stand at the edge of the table, hands on hips, until the meal was done. With no desire for payment, they would then return to the car and offer the stuffed individual a ride to any (local) destination. Now dark, the nightly spin would conclude, and they would return home to their recliners for pudding and sitcoms, having given back in the ways that were received when times were lean, and food was scarce.

Not only was Gertrude generous and civic-minded, she was also innately creative and prolific in the arts, having mastered the production of kiln-fired ceramics; the creation of floral arrangements; the precision of hand-cut stenciling; photo album decoration; the making of mop head dolls; knitting, sewing and crocheting; making and repairing clothing; stained glass, and many other forms of crafting that can be viewed and enjoyed in the homes of her loved ones for years to come. Gertrude was so accomplished that she was commissioned by a local academy to teach a weekly ceramics class out of her home, having a kiln in the back apartment of The Eastside Restaurant building. In later years, Gertrude would produce creations to frequently sell at local bazaars and holiday craft shows, carrying out a similar trade to that of her Native American grandmother so many years before.

In retirement, Gertrude still enjoyed the beauty of creation, tending to a vegetable and flower garden in the backyard of her Newport home. She enjoyed fine things. She loved good food, was a wonderful cook, and even if it were only the two of you, she would still cook for seven. She was fashionable, adorned often in colorful, well-coordinated outfits and accessories, exuding the light and love for life that she carried within. She loved her family. She was a nurturing mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to a hearty and fortunate lineage. Only a year ago, Gertrude spoke of the wonder that she was still here at 100 + years. "Can you believe I'm still here? I never thought I would still be here at 100. I would stay here for 500, if they would let me." Her faith in Christ has called her home. Home to her husband, her mother and father, her brother and sister, and her son, Paul. A wonderfully long and loving life lived, that has touched so many, and graced us all with the abundance and joy of knowing a woman so strong; so talented, and so compassionate. Thank you for the memories, Gertrude. We will forever count our treasures.

Gertrude is preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Essaff, and son, Paul Essaff, and is survived by her children, Joann Anderson, Roland Essaff, Diane Essaff, David Essaff, Carol Sanville, and Michael Essaff, with countless grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A service for Gertrude will be held in the spring in Newport, VT. Details can be acquired at a later date through the family.